Heddle screw hook



(Dec. 9 7 1 W. .JA COLEERT HEDDLE SCREW HOOK Filed Allg.

Patented Dec. 9, 1924.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM J'. COLBERT, OE' FALL RIVER, BIASSACHUSETTS,

HEDDLE SCREW HOOK.

Application' filed. August 9, 1923. Serial' No. 656,605..

T 0 @ZZ whom if may con cern.'

Be it known that I. WILLIAM J. CoLunnT, a `citizen of the United States, residing at Fall River, in the county of Bristol and Sta-te of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and 'useful Improvements in Heddle Screw Hooks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in heddle frames,- more particularly to imrofvedmeans' forsecurely locking the heddlel shafts thereim and improvements in locking screwhooks and -in the artof their manufacture. i

I am'awar'e that' hitherto straight looped heddle hooks haveV been employed for the purpose of supporting the heddle shafts in the heddle frames and holding the heddles ap`art;" These hooks, however, have only been able to lock the heddle shafts in one vertical direction. When the heddle frame is suitably attached to the harnesses andthe loom operated, there is apt to'be a chaling of heddleframes andv consequent vibration, as well as much vibration in all directions from the general operation of the loom itself. It is apparent that with the use of the formerhooks, the heddle shafts are only nrevented from movement towards` the median line'of'the heddle frames and laterally until unhook'ed, but are free to move vertically away from the median line thereof. As the heddle shafts are usually inherently resilient*1 they tend to swing up and down in the vertical plane of the operating frame., as well as 4sidewise therein. Much wear and tear takes' place both on the heddle shafts and 'hooks'. The vibration is sometimes so great'that the heddle shafts will jump out of'these looped hooks, and in timethe end of the hooks wear through, leaving the resilient heddle shafts loose in all direction@ and oftenthe heddle shafts themselves become worn and break'. It is obvious that as the two heddle frames normally function very closeto' each other.; jumping or hori-y zontally vvibrating shaft will often catch against the frame of the closely co-operating heddle, causing a` harness smash. Very often-theshafts are bent or broken and the hetldl'es either broken or badly twisted.l Broken selvages or other defects-in the cloth are' caused, producing second-quality goods. Much-time is lost in resetting the heddles in theA drawing-in room, causing a lack of productiomas well as badly trying thefpatience of the weaver. My invention comprises a heddle hook wherein the end of the head of the hook is bent approximately at right angles to itself and obliquely toward the threaded stem thereof, in such a manner that thehook may. be turned to permit insertion of thev heddle shaft therein7 and when the heddle shaft inserted7 may be further turned` so that the bent locking end thereof engages the heddle. shaft and locks it against verticalas well as horizontal vibration. One object of my invention, therefore, is .to pro vide a suitable means for readily and tightly locking the heddle shaft against vibration. thus .preventingl wear thereof and harness smashes.

As hereinafter explained and illustrated the'horizontal vibration of the heddle shaft will cause it to act as a. lever in pivotingthe hook. A dead center line willv soon be reached7 however, where the turning vibration of the shaft will be equal in both direc tions, and the shaft will no longer act as a lever to turn the hook.y The obliquely disposed bent over locking end will, however, at this point still serve to prevent the heddle shaft fromv any vibration inr any" direction. A further object of my invention. is to provide a heddle `hook which will not unlock under vibration. In addition, if a right hand thread is used, and -the end. bent obliquely clockwise thereto any loosening` of the thread from vibration will cause deeper` engagement thereof.

Further yobjects of my invention are to provide a screw hook of improved construction, and improvements in the art of screw manufacture.

These and such other objects of'myinvention. as may hereinafter appear will be best understood. from a. description of one embodi-mentf thereof such asis shown in .the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 `is a perspective view of a. heddleframa. showing thehooks in. locked position thereon.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the lower side bar of the vframe showing the hook locking the hed dle shaft thereto.`

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion'of the lower side bar of theframe showing the hook in unlocked. position', thus permitting withdrawal of theheddle shaft therefrom.

Fig. 4l is a perspective view of my. improved screw hook.

Fig. 5 is .a plan view showing the hook engaging the heddle shaft in locked position.

F ig. 6 is a plan view showing the bent vlocking end of the hook still engaging the heddle shaft after horizontal vibration of the shaft has forced the hook to a. dead center line.

In the drawings, wherein like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout,

10 generally indicates the heddle frame,

comprising the usual side bars 11 and 12, and end bars 18 and 14 preferably constructed of wood, suitably joined togetherl to form the usual rectangular frame. The heddle shafts 16 are suitably inserted lengthwise of the frame 10, and locked in position thereon by any suitable means, in the embodiment shown by the locking pins 17. Thin rectangular shafts which are inherently resilient as shown, are the type normally used. The shafts 16 are inserted through the end eyes 18 of the heddles 19, thus mounting the heddles thereon. 20 generally indicates my improved locking screw hook. In Fig. 1, I have shown one locking hook 20 used on each of the side bars 11 and 12 of the frame. This is usually sufficient to lock the entire heddle shaft 16 against vertical and horizontal vibration. Nhen desired, the former type of hook as illustrated at 21 with the locking ends 22 thereof merely looped over` in a similar plane, may be used to further assist in preventing horizontal vibration.

My improved locking screw hook, as shown in Fig. t is made as follows: A piece of wire is suitablythreaded at one end thereof as usual, as shown in the embodiment, with the right hand thread 25. The other end of the wire is first looped over on itself in the same plane to form the hook portion 26, the downwardly extending portion 27, and opposed threaded stem 29. The extreme end Of the downwardly extending portion 27 is then bent at approximately right angles to itself toward the threaded stem 29 and obliquely to the vertical plane of the looped hook portion 26, downwardly projecting portion 27 and threaded stem 29, preferably at an angle to said Lplane of about 450 to form the locking lug or tit 28. Better results are obtained by bending the lug 28 in a `direction opposite to the advance of the thread 25, thus in the right hand threaded embodiment to the left or towards the slack side of the thread. rEhe reason for this will be explained later.

The manner in whichv my improved hook provides for the iirst time means to prevent vibration of the heddle shaft in any direction and co-operates with the other portions of the heddle frame to provide an improved heddle frame, will be best understood from the following description of its mode of operation: I will describe the operation of the embodiment shown, which as explained has a right hand thread, with the locking end 28 thereof bent counter clockwise in a direction opposite to that of the thread. The locking screw hook 20 is threaded the desired amount into the usual wooden side bar 12 where desired and until the locking lug 28 thereof is approximately parallel. to the side bar 12, as indicated in Fig. 8. As indicated, a` space 8O is thus left open between the threaded stem 29 thereof and the locking lug 28. The heddle shaft 16 may then be lifted up and inserted vertically through this space 8O into the space 32 formed between the stem 29- and the downwardly eX- tending portion 27. The hook 2() isthen partially unscrewed by turning it counterclockwise to the left approximately L150, thus forcing the locking lug across the heddle shaft 16, and completely enclosing the heddle shaft 16 in the locking space 32 as indicated in Fig. 2, or as shown in plan in Fig. 5. To position the locking space 82 for vertical withdrawal of the heddle shaft 16 through the space 80, the hook 2O is screwed clockwise to the right approximately 450 to the original position indicated in Fig. 8. If desired, the heddle shaft 16 may be longitudinally inserted through the locking space 82 of the screw hooks 20 without turning of the threads thereof.

The plan views shown in Figs. 5 and 6, illustrate additional features of my invention. l/V hen in locking position, Fig. 5, the hook 20 is turned until the locking end 28 is at approximately right angles to the heddle shaft 16, securely locking the heddle shaft against vertical and horizontal movement. It is obvious, however, that the lateral vibration of the heddle shaft 16 willr cause said shaft to act as a lever to pivot the looped hook 26, downwardly projecting portion 27 and locking end 28 around the threaded stem 29, until the looped hook 26 reaches the dead center line BA1 illustrated in Fig. 6, where it will stop, the horizontal vibrative force then being all resolved to bear laterally outwards against the downwardly projecting side 27 at right angles to the heddle v shaft 16, thereby preventing further pivotal movement thereof. t will be observed, however, that when this dead center line is reached, the locking end 28 of the hook 2O being bent obliquely at an angle of 450 to the plane of the looped hooked Portion 26 and downwardly projecting portion 27, will still function as illustrated in Fig. 6 to secure said heddle shaft 16 against vertical vibration. The reason why the locking end 28 is bent in an opposite direction to the direction of the thread 25 new becomes apparent. In moving the looped hook 26 and downwardly projecting side 27 from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6, the vibrative action is resisted by the thread 25 functioning against the wood.

It is obvious that 'I have provideda locking screw hool;4 especially ladapted for" use with heddles, improvements the'mannfacture thereof, andthat for'the first time in a heddle frame l have provided,` in combination with the other'pai'ts thereofineans' to loch the heddle shaft Aagainst vibration in any direction.k

It is understood that my in'ventionis not limited to the speeitic embodiment show' and that various deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of. the appended claims.

What l claim as new and desire to secure as Letters Patent is:

l. ln heddle frames, the combination of a rectangular wooden frame, heddle shafts mounted longitudinally therein, heddles mounted transversely of said shafts, and means to loch the resilient center portions of the heddle shafts to the frame, comprisingl locking screw hooks having integral locking ends bent over to prevent the vibration of said heddle shafts in any direction.

2. In heddle frames, the combination of a rectangular wooden frame, having longitudinally extending side bars, heddle shafts monntet longitudinally therein, heddles mounted transversely of said shafts, and means to lock the resilient center portions of the heddle shafts to the frame against vibration in any direction, comprising locking screw hooks, having stems threaded into the longitudinal side bars of said frames, semi-circular looped hook portions to prevent movement of said heddle shafts toward the median line of said frame, portions projecting downwardly therefrom in the same plane to cooperate with said threaded stems to enclose said shafts against sidewise movement, and locking ends bent approximately at right angles to the downwardly projecting portions, and obliquely towards the threaded stems at approximately 45 to the vertical plane of the threaded stems, the looped hooli and downwardly projecting portions, to prevent vertical movement of the said heddle shafts away from the median line of said frame, said locking screw hooks permitting on slight turning thereof withdrawal of the heddle shafts therefrom between said threaded stems and locking ends when the locking ends are turned to positions approximately parallel to said shafts.

3. ln heddle frames, the combination of a rectangular wooden frame, having longitudinally extending side bars, heddle shafts mounted longitudinally therein, heddles mounted transversely of said shafts, and means to lock the resilient center portions of the heddle shafts to the frame against vibration in any direction, comprising locking screw hooks, having ste-ms threaded into the longitudinal side bars of said frames, semi circular looped hoolr portions to prevent movement of said heddle shafts toward, the ined-ian'lineI of said frame, portions projecting do'wrnvsrdly therefrom in the same plaire to cfa-opera'LA with said threadedl stomste enclose sad shafts against sidewise movement, and locking ends bent approximately at right angles to the downwardly projecting portions, and obliquely vtowards the threaded stems at approximately fflto the vertical pl of the threaded stems, the looped hooks and downwardly projecting portions in the opposite direction to the thread of the stem, to prevent vertical movement of said heddle shafts away from the median line of said plane, said locking screw hoo-hs permitting on slight turning thereof withdrawal of the heddle shafts therefrom between said threaded stems and lock-ing ends when the locking ends are turned to positions approximately parallel to said shafts.

1i. ln heddle frames, the combination of a rectangular wooden frame having lon itndinally extending side bars, heddle shafts mounted longitudinally therein7 heddles mounted transversely of said shafts, and means to lock the resilient center portions of the heddle shafts to the frame against vibration in any direction, comprising locking sere brooks, having stems threaded into the longitudinal side bars of said frames, looped hooi; portions to prevent movement of said heddle shafts toward the median line of said frame, portions projecting downwardly therefrom to co-operate with said threaded stems to enclose said shafts against sidewise movement, and locking ends bent obliquely from the downwardly projecting portions toward the threaded stems and obliquely to the vertical plane of the threaded stems, to prevent vertical movement of said heddle shafts away from the median line of said frame, said locking screw hooks permitting on slight turning thereof withdrawal of the heddle shafts therefrom between said threaded stems and locking ends.

5. is a new article of manufacture, a. locking screw hoolr.. comprising a threaded stem portion, a semi-circular hooked portion looped over from the threaded stern in the same vertical piane, a portion projectinp downwardly from the other end of said hoolred portion in the same plane, and a locking end bent approximately at right angles to the downwardly projecting portion toward the stem, and obliquely Aat approximately 4:50 to the vertical plane of the stem, the hooked portion and downwardly projecting portion.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a loching screw hooi-1, comprising a threaded stem portion, a semi-circular hooked portion looped over from the threaded stem in the same vertical plane, a portion projecting downwardly in the same plane, from the iso other end of said hooked portionD and a locking end bent approximately at right angles to the downwardly projecting porn tion toward the stern, and ohliqnely at approximately 450 in the opposite direction to the thread of the stein to the vertical plane of the stem, the hooked portion and downwardly projecting portion.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a

10 locking screw hook7 comprising a threaded ohliquelyfronithe downwardly projecting 15 portion toward the threaded stern, and obliqnely to the vertical plane of the threaded stern.

In testimony whereof I aiiX my signature.

VVILLAM J. COLBERT. 

